Monday, October 3, 2011

We Saw It All

This year's IZOD IndyCar Series race at Kentucky Speedway brought stellar racing, chaos in the pits, and a fairy tale finish.

Tuck in to these (very) random thoughts and observations:

Could the weather over the weekend have been any different within a span of 24 hours? Welcome to the Tri-state...

Newman Haas (P4 and P6): Overachievers. Period.

Charlie Kimball stepped out of his car after the race, took a very animated deep breath, then grinned. Mile-and-a-halves are killers. Respect to all the drivers.

With two second-place finishes in two years, Kentucky is Eddie Carpenter's best track. With it on the bubble for '12, Ed was, essentially, running out of chances to seal the deal for his first win--but he did.

The award for most impressive entourage goes to rookie and part-timer, Wade Cunningham. Post-race found him swallowed up in a scrum of tats and long hair you simply couldn't ignore. BTW: P7 in his third start and besting his mile-and-a-half master teammate, Wheldon, by seven spots? Are you kidding me?!

Post-race presser saw Dario being interviewed for his P2 finish while Willy P's ubiquitous Verizon advert played on the monitors above. Irony...

When you encounter the Sarah Fisher Racing organization, it looks more like a family reunion than a race team. Makes the win even more miraculous.

During the Indy Lights broadcast, Michael Andretti said he would like to see other IndyCar owners step up and support the Road to Indy program--I would too.

Note to Versus: Please don't play radio chatter on air without, somehow, identifying the source.

Mrs. Power's team sends their driver rocketing into the side of Mr. Power, possibly screwing him, royally, with regard to the championship. Awkward?

Tag says he thinks "Vegas will be a fantastic race." I like the sound of that.

Graham Rahal, not outwardly angry, but very emotional in his post-race interview. Tells you what a competitor he is, and I don't blame him--this was supposed to be "the year."

Finally, a few shout-outs:

To those injured, yesterday, a big AHOI get well soon!

To Kentucky Speedway: Thanks for the great hospitality and for putting on another stellar show. May not be next year, but we WILL be back.

Lastly, to you folks. Thanks for reading our tweets, viewing our hideously poor-quality pics, and hitting up our posts, this weekend. Truly one of the greatest experiences I've had in racing, and without an audience, it's just me, if you know what I'm sayin'?

how we met

A journalist, I’m not, just an enthusiast with a point of view. A grown-up kid who struggled to reconcile his fascination with American open-wheel racing against others’ passion for what played out between the lines of the gridiron and ball diamond.
I first walked through the tunnel at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1973 at age 7 and was captivated. The next decade was spent pressed against chain link fence, straining for a closer look when, despite no real marketable skills, I plotted my way onto a startup Indycar team as a neophyte gofer (thanks Joe). Three years and two teams later, it was back to school.
Since those heady days, I’m holding down a cozy cubicle right here in river city, clinging to fences again, whenever the opportunity arises.
The blog? Just a quiet corner to share my take with anyone who will listen. A healthy main course of IndyCar with a palate-cleansing dose of the requisite peripherals.
Glad you’re here. If you like what you see, stop back often, and bring a friend.
—Chris